Hello all!!

Well, it has been awhile since I’ve been able to update. The past weeks have been pretty busy with trainings and meetings. One of the major themes of PC here is HIV/AIDS education. PC held a training event for the volunteers where we were each supposed to bring two kids who would help us educated the rest of the community about the topic when returning to the village. The day of the training- volunteers and their kids traveled to a nearby village. The event was a two-day training session in which the ‘trainees’ we supposed to partake in skits, songs, etc., to help them get informative messages about AIDS across to others. Unfortunately, while the girls I brought were smart, they were painfully shy in front of the group. When they were performing the skit we wrote, I felt like a nervous stage mom just hoping they got the words right. A month after this event, all the participants met up again. This time we brought 2 additional kids, so there were 4 girls total. Before arriving, we had rewritten the skit to make it more lively and entertaining, and it took many practices but they finally got it right. When the big day came, I was very proud of the girls - the 2 additional ones gave the original trainees more confidence and overall they did really well- I took plenty of pictures!

Another important role of PC here is Water and Sanitation Health. We went to a training involving UNICEF in which we discussed various ways the communities can improve their drinking water, waste systems, and overall understanding of sanitary practices. There was some confusion bc the training was given in a different language than most of the PCVs understood, so a lot of the time was spent on translating. In relation to the training, my counterpart and I began to work more on the water project we are working on for the village in which we are trying to obtain funding for Durotanks or large water catchments that will store rain water. After returning to Gengeston, we had several meetings with the ‘water committee’ (my counterpart, 2 teachers, and a basha (important person in the village)) to finalize all the details and numbers necessary to complete the proposal. Since the project is requesting a large amount ($10K) and is going through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, the proposal was very lengthy and detailed, which will hopefully help to ensure that it receives approval from Washington. I’ve been in the city for 2 weeks going through the final stages here in Suriname. This involved several meetings with PC staff and several revisions and adjustments to the proposal. Monday (4/6) my counterpart and I will have a meeting with PC staff. It’s the final step here, and if all goes well (which it is expected to) the proposal will be sent to Washington D.C. and then posted online so that donors back home can help by contributing (tax deductible) funds. After months of adjusting and integrating, it’s satisfying to be working on such an important project and seeing how the hard work of my community and I is paying off.

Aside from the water project I have been talking about on here for months, we have also been working on a few smaller projects. The first is securing life vests for the children. The village does not have a primary school, and kids who wish to continue on after kindergarten must travel by boat to a neighboring village. Originally, the village wanted to build a school to solve the problem. Aside from it being a lengthy and expensive project, I wanted to be sure we were able to focus on drinking water and a rice mill (still working on that). Instead, I proposed life vests. Each child will pay a small rental fee (SRD 1= about $.33) per month and pay it to the Women’s Organization. This ensures that when one of the vests needs to be replaced, there will be funding to do so. We are negotiating the costs with a local organization here, but the project should be done within a month or so. In addition to this, the village is working on obtaining funding for a welcome sign. Currently, there is nothing designating the village, so when travelers pass by on the river, they have no idea what village they are looking at. We are also talking to an organization about providing the sign, as we have already secured a vendor to donate the cost of actually printing the sign. (It will be a large metal sign saying ‘Welcome to Gengeston’ with a picture of the river in the background.) While these are much smaller projects, they are important to the village. About the rice mill, we were talking with one organization here, but will probably have to begin shopping the project with other groups here.

In addition to the recent training sessions, we also had a few events within the village. The community performs traditional washings periodically. This entails the men of the village gathering and grinding leaves, roots, etc. into a pulp. After this is done, the members gather to be ‘washed’ – or sitting together and have the mixture, along with river water, poured over them by a trusted member of the village. As he pours the mixtures, he says a blessing. Luckily for me, he somewhat speaks English, so I get the translated version. As I had something which smelled oddly familiar and delicious poured over my head, leaving me covered with leaves, etc., he said ‘This is for good wishes for a good year. Good luck Bendefolo (my village name (bende=long and lean folo = flower)). After this, as I kept trying to figure out what I now smelled like, my counterpart comes up to me. They are in favor of asking pretty obvious questions (i.e. ‘are you here?’ “did you wake up today?’ ‘are you going to the river?’ – while I have a huge bucket of dishes on my head) and so he asks “Did you get washed?” (as I am covered in leaves and stems) “Yes.” “Did you get pepper in your eyes?” “What? No!” Then after asking him what was in the mixture, I discovered there were onion roots and parts of peppers mixed with everything else. It seems a bit dangerous to have anything mixed with peppers (the ones here are tiny and HOT) poured over oneself. But, at least I solved the mystery – onions and peppers!

I held English lessons right before I headed into the city. We were writing letters to our pen pals in Missouri and I was excited when the class doubled in size. I took the kids’ pictures last time and put them with the letters so the kids in St. Joe would see who they were writing. Evidently, word had spread, and we had about 23 kids wanting to write letters. I thought 12 kids was a challenge last time, I was mistaken. Two and a half hours and one voice lost later, they letters were done and I was exhausted!! Erica I hope your kids enjoy them!

While putting together the proposal for the Durotank project, I put together a PDF slideshow that tells you more about the village and project. I can’t figure out if it’s possible to somehow post it here (I really am not computer savvy!). If you are interested in seeing it I will gladly email it to you, along with a letter about the project and the process we are going through. Feel free to email me at smith.cristin.e@gmail.com and I will happily get back to you as soon as I can. (You know I’m a bit limited on my emails here!)

I wanted to thank the Hildebrands and Zawodny-WalkUps for the care package!!! I was totally surprised and it was such a nice treat!! I saw the Taco John’s box and knew it had to be from someone in St. Joe! Everything was delicious!! Thanks again!! Also, I hope that everyone has a Happy Easter and everyone is doing well! I miss you all!

p.s. There are new pictures up! The link is at the top left of the page along with the info about how to access it.